Written and directed by Neil Burger, Voyagers is a 2021 sci-fi drama starring Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead, Chanté Adams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Viveik Kalra, Archie Madekwe, Quintessa Swindell, Madison Hu, and Colin Farrell.
Set in the future, the film chronicles the odyssey of 30 young men and women who are sent deep into space on a multi-generational mission in search of a new home. The mission descends into madness, as the crew reverts to its most primal state, not knowing if the real threat they face is what's outside the ship or who they're becoming inside it. Voyagers made its debut only in theaters on April 9th, 2021, courtesy of Lionsgate.
THE GOOD
Voyagers is a story of self-preservation in the face of our primal needs as human beings. The unique element of the story is that after years and years, researchers finally find what they believe is a new and very much inhabitable planet. There is one catch catch though, it will take precisely 86 years aboard the ship to reach this new planet. Because of this, researchers realize that the people who climb aboard the ship will rely on their grandchildren to take the reigns. Realizing that it is against human nature to be stuck on a ship for an entire lifetime, they raise children in a lab setting in preparation for this mission. The plan is to leave once this new generation is old enough to successfully maintain the ship, with safeguards in place that essentially keep the crew from ever becoming truly “human”. As you can imagine, things do not go quite as they planned.
As a movie that seemed to more or less come out of nowhere, Voyagers is an enjoyable sci-fi drama with a fair amount of depth to the story. First and foremost, I appreciate the willingness to have a theatrical release instead of selling off to a streaming service because we need to re-ignite the movie theater industry. The premise feels fresh and thought provoking, the cast is a great mix of stars and young talent, and the “why” certainly hits home. I thought the reason for this “voyage” was well thought out and an easy concept for viewers to grasp. Voyagers is an example of science and social psychology climbing into the drivers seat in an attempt to preserve human life in the form of a newfound seemingly habitable planet. The movie kept me guessing, unsure as to whether it was more of a drama or if it would become more of a horror thriller, and that kept me engaged for the majority of the film.
The cast is anchored by the great Colin Farrell who delivers a fantastic performance as expected. Farrell may not get as much screen time as I would have preferred due to the story arch, but he makes the most of his screen time. I was looking forward to seeing my guy Tye Sheridan in a starring role again, he’s been fairly quiet since 2018’s Ready Player One. Ever since seeing 2012’s Mud I knew he was an up-and-coming star, and he does well here even holding up in the scenes he shares with Farrell. I also liked Lily-Rose Depp who was also in one of the lead roles. If you didn’t guess it already, she is the daughter of actor Johnny Depp. Lily-Rose is slowly building a solid acting career and her talent shows in Voyagers.
The technical elements are incredibly important in a sci-fi drama, and I think for the most part everything worked. The nice thing about this film is it relies more on the performances than it does CGI by a long shot, which kept the budget in check at a very reasonable estimated 29 million. I also thought the score helped to balance the bleak yet optimistic tone they were going for.
THE BAD
Voyagers has it’s issues keeping it from being one of those “wow, that’s crazy!” sci-fi dramas. At some point towards the more pivotal part of the story, things started to feel goofy, I guess is the best way to explain it. At this point the audience is sort of on edge, unsure as to what exactly is plaguing the crew as it relates to a tragedy aboard the ship, and it just gets a little weird. For me, I felt like the element of realism and drama started to trend in the direction the Divergent films, but not really in a good way. It was almost like we were teased with a horror thriller vibe, and it was ripped from our grasps just as we were getting comfortable. This all came as no real surprise to me as writer/director Neil Burger is the man behind 2014’s Divergent. Burger is a talented writer and director don’t get me wrong, but I think he made a mistake trying to blend the young adult genre into Voyagers and that directly impacted the overall effectiveness of the film. It really bummed me out because he was on such a great path initially.
I also had an issue with a few of the casting decisions coupled with some flawed writing. I was annoyed by Fionn Whitehead’s character, and I usually like him as an actor. He was great in Dunkirk. I feel like the writing fell flat at times and his character arc took the brunt of it. He was supposed to be the character we had mixed emotions about unsure whether we should support or despise him, but I just couldn’t stand him pretty much from the onset and that didn’t sit well with me. For the 2nd half of the movie I honestly just wanted someone to open the door and send him on a journey of no return. I also thought the supporting cast was fairly weak and undeveloped.
THE VERDICT
A sci-fi thriller more rooted in reality than we would like to admit, Voyagers reminds us just how far we are willing to go to preserve the future of humanity. I would have preferred a bit more depth to the script as it relates to overall character development as well as more Alien and less Divergent, but this is still an enjoyable and thought provoking experience with a satisfying conclusion. It just could have been much, much better.
TED TAKES RATING - 6.5/10
Voyagers is now playing only in theaters. Check out the trailer below.